Rourkela: Hosts India is gearing up for their first match of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023, beginning from tomorrow.
The Harmanpreet Singh-led India team will take on Spain at the newly constructed Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela tomorrow at 7 PM tomorrow.
However, Argentina and South Africa will play the first match of the tournament at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
The Indian team has already began practicing for the match. Two players from Odisha have found place in the 18-member Indian squad. Amit Rohidas has been named vice-captain.
A total of 16 teams are taking part in the 15th edition of the World Cup. A total 44 matches will be played of which 20 matches will be played in Rourkela and 24 including the final will be played in Kalinga Stadium at Bhubaneswar.
This is the second consecutive occasion that India is host the tournament. Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar hosted the 2018 World Cup.
India’s Group Stage Matches (Group D):
- India vs Spain – Rourkela – January 13
- England vs India – Rourkela – January 15
- India vs Wales – Bhubaneswar – January 19
Timing:
- All of India’s group stage matches will begin at 7:00 PM IST.
Team India:
- Goalkeeper: P.R. Sreejesh, Krishna Pathak
- Defender: Jarmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh (Captain), Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas (Vice Captain), Nilam Sanjeep Xess.
- Midfielder: Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Akashdeep Singh
- Forward: Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh.
- Standby: Rajkumar Pal, Jugraj Singh.